Grease Monkey
by KenSan1990
Summary: Scathed by the past, the quiet Sanosuke is interested in little about the world around him other than the cars the he tunes up; that is until a city dweller by the name of Megumi drives up and turned everything on its top. SM KK AU
1. The Art of Not Thinking

A/N: I have no idea...I passed by a mechanic place one day I guess....

**The Art of (Not) Thinking**

Kenshin watched as his partner rolled up his sleeves for the hundredth time that day, hoping that it would keep him cooled in the blazing summer heat. It was humid enough to drop a horse, but not Sanosuke Sagara. Oh no. If it ever did that, then humanity was in peril. Sanosuke was one of the most resilient men around, and one of the most trustworthy. He was never one to back down from a challenge either. Up for anything and ready to go on a moments notice gave him an edge over most things; the heat included. The truth of the matter was that he just never felt like complaining. If there was no sound reason to complain, then there was no reason to open his mouth he had explained to Kenshin before.

The red headed partner who was standing nearby, adjusting the old beat up radio, looked at his friend who's hands were deep into the inner organs of the car, messing around with it's parts like a mad scientist. For Kenshin, this job was just a layover job until he found something a little more appealing. As he watched Sanosuke he realized that this was his partner's career path and nothing else.

"You gonna take a break?" Kenshin called out, looking up at the clock. The garage wasn't a big fancy garage like most. It had a rather country bumpkin touch to it. There were no bosses looming overhead telling them when they would and wouldn't take a break. It was mostly just him and Sanosuke fixing things up, and a few teenagers who came and went as they pleased, trying to make a quick buck over the summer. Because of these conditions, Kenshin often had to remind Sanosuke of the time to tell him to stop and rest.

The spikey haired man lifted up from the hood of the car, his hands wiping on the bandanna on his forehead. "Yeah, I guess," he said, as he always did, walking by Kenshin to plop into unfolded metal chair. He didn't like to stop because, as Kenshin was told, it made him think. He didn't like to think about things too much. Not because he believed that he would think about something dangerous, but because thinking, to Sanosuke, was pointless. If you thought things out too much you were bound to end up in a bad situation because you were making too many assumptions, so thinking as little as possible proved effective. It got him paid and fed. He was happy.

"Doing anything tonight?" the red head asked, sitting down next to him.

"Nah. Proly jus' gonna roam a little."

Kenshin looked out the garage doors. It was so hot that the sides of the building seemed to melt, dripping down and sizzling on the pavement below. He turned back to Sanosuke. "You want company?"

"Don'tcha have the missy with ya?" inquired Sanosuke. He leaned forward, eyeing the car with a bit of pride. The work he put into it was like the work a painter would put into a masterpiece; like Van Gogh's _Starry Night_ or Munch's _Scream_. The little bits of effort swirled together where you couldn't tell one detail from the next without looking at the piece in a whole. Kenshin had to admit, they never had repeat customers as long as he'd been there.

"Yes but, she's okay by herself. She's a big girl," he nodded as he said this. "You seem lonely."

"I'm not."

"But you seem it," Kenshin said, trying to make a point that there may have been something that was missing in Sanosuke's life. "Well, it's not my job to pry," he said, lifting up and walking over to the car. "You mind if I finish up your work?"

Sanosuke grunted and shook his head, placing his cheek in the palm of his hand as he looked up to the ceiling. Kenshin only had to drink it in for a second to know what Sanosuke was doing. Thinking.

Yes, he'd said that he didn't like it and that people jumped to conclusions much too soon, but that didn't mean that Sanosuke couldn't refrain from thinking his entire life. It was a natural process; how else would he be so good at working on cars? It wasn't all natural talent, there was information stored in a filing cabinet somewhere in his mind. And as Kenshin understood, within that filing cabinet there were many drawers, some of which had contents locked away in hopes that they would never be opened again.

This was one of those moments when the cabinet unlocked and Sanosuke pondered momentarily; about the past, the present and the future. But most especially about the past. It was the past, Kenshin figured, that created the person that you sat and spoke to. It was the past that made the person think the way they did, and it was the past that made the person steer away from the things they would steer clear of. The problem was that Sanosuke was never the type to steer away from anything. Whether it be a barroom brawl or an evening dinner. He was flexible. So Kenshin wondered, when Sanosuke pondered, whatever had happened to him to make him bend such ways. To make him bend over backwards for anyone who asked it of him.

"The shift will be over in an hour," Kenshin announced to the still pondering Sanosuke. "This one's all finished up."

Sanosuke stood up and walked out into the wall of humidity. The long stretch of highway that they sat out on proved to be a convenient stop for many with the minor car problems, so it was very unusual to see barren roads. Kenshin was shortly behind, taking in the red clay landscape; the desert like terrain where, in the distance, a few bushes and trees arose. It wasn't exactly the scenic route, but in the long stretches people had to stop eventually. Like a dot on the map there was the oasis. It was home to a gas station who claimed that their gas was 'the lowest in 100 miles' which was complete bull but for the sake of sales it worked. There were two churches, one Baptist and the other Methodist, sitting on each side of the gas station. There was the diner that at the height of it's time was a big hang out spot but now was just a sore spot among the sprinkling of buildings. Last but not least was the auto mechanic which Sanosuke had been working in since he was fourteen. Passed down from his father, it was the only bit of land that Sanosuke ever actually owned. He was proud of the old place, even if it needed to be painted and the weeds around it needed to be pulled.

"Should be somethin'," said Sanosuke, almost hoping for it so he didn't have to go home. "Should be."

"There's always something," Kenshin shrugged, turning around. "But it's probably a 'something' that will come tomorrow," he sat back down in the folded chair. Sanosuke walked outside a few more paces, scanning for something more than just barren land.

Just in the distance there came a small speck burning brighter than the sun. Sanosuke's hands shoved deep into his pockets, his eyes following the car as it turned onto the blacktop just out front of the repair shop. The windows of the car were tinted so the only thing that he could see was a silhouette moving around. As his eyes turned the car over he found a variety of little things that he could touch up but people weren't usually willing to pay for. Then the window rolled down, a burst of cool air flushing out the window.

"Can I help you?" he asked, leaning down to peer into the car. It was a nice car, a Cadillac, but it was old as well. Nothing that was historical or really had any nice merit to it, just an old dinged up Cadillac that he was itching to make new again. Kenshin smirked at his friend as he itched the back of his leg with the toe of his shoe in anxiety.

"Yes," the woman flipped her hair back a little, a shimmer running through it. She pulled down her sunglasses and smiled at the man before her. "I'm a little lost, you think you could help me?"

"Sure, why not?" he shrugged. He leaned in the window of the car, getting a better look at the woman. She was mature looking, dressed well and was overall very organized. Some kind of business woman, or something who at least was a little more than the middle class standard. "Where ya headed?"

"I was trying to find my way to Ottway."

"Yer in Ottway," Sanosuke wanted to laugh. "It's kinda small."

"Oh," she looked down at the Mapquest printout. "I see. So, this is the 'town'?"

"People are up the way a bit. Proly a mile ahead. You'll see a park first, then you'll be in the houses and stuff."

"Oh," she tucked a hair behind her ear. "I see." She was blushing. "Sorry that I wasted your time then," she said, revving the car up. Sanosuke held a firm hand on the door.

"Sounds like ya gotta bit of a problem," he commented. Maybe it was just in his blood to try and find a deal, or maybe it was his hormones going a little out of whack, but it was always a little different around when someone from the city arrived.

"No I don't."

"Ah, but you don't know that," Sanosuke started to walk around to the hood of the car.

"I wouldn't open that up if I were you," the woman said, leaning out the side of her car. "It's still hot, I got the motor going."

"I know that," he said, leaning down ear first to the car hood. "You can just hear it. Doesn't sound right," he was being a little strange, even for being himself. Kenshin covered his mouth with his hand, observing and trying to be objective as he watched. "Anyways, yeah, you can find the town just up ahead 'bout a mile."

"Wait, what did you hear?" she asked.

"Hear what?"

"With my car?"

"Nothin'," he shrugged. "I was just messin' around."

She didn't look too happy. "You shouldn't do that to people," she said. "You're gonna wind up getting hurt one day," she shook her head and proceeded to roll up the window, only to have an arm sticking into it before it was rolled all the way up. "What do you want!" she yelled, freeing his arm by rolling down the window again.

"I was just gonna ask your name."

She stopped. Kenshin couldn't help but laughing out loud.

If there was one thing that Sanosuke could do, it was catch others of guard. His persistence and resiliency were not without cause. He always had something that he wanted to say to somebody, even if it was just exchanging their names. The woman, probably use to being asked her phone number or a number of other gross or perverted questions, was taken aback. He wanted just a name; what could a man do with a name?

"My...name?"

"Yeah. You seem nice. Helps me remember ya."

The woman, still taken aback, took a moment to gather her thoughts, like her name was some long math equation. She looked up to Sanosuke fiercely. "Megumi Takani," she said, without a hitch in her voice. "Is that all?"

"You wanna know mine?" Sanosuke asked. He stood at a certain distance from her, his hands coolly in his pockets and his face rather neutral other than a smile of content. There was nothing to indicate that he was trying to seduce her, or belittle her in any means. He wasn't trying to do anything except make conversation.

"I guess," she said, leaning back in her seat and letting go of the wheel. "What's your name?"

"Sanosuke Sagara," he nodded his head. "Okay, I'm done," he said, almost as if he had fixed her car. She blinked and looked back to the red head who sat in the distance who watched, humored by the scene. It was obvious Megumi wasn't sure if she was the victim of a sick joke, or if this was just a genuine man trying to be cordial, unlike most.

"Done?"

He shrugged. "You can leave."

"Oh ho," her shoulders tensed up and her lips pursed. "Well Sanosuke Sagara, I will bid you farewell." She nodded her head and proceeded to roll up the window and drive away. Sanosuke's eyes followed her until she disappeared into the distant the same was she had come, as a burning speck. He sighed, turning on his heel and heading into the garage.

"What was that about?" Kenshin asked, containing the reminents of his laughter.

"She was lost."

"So I gathered," Sanosuke sat down next to him. "You know you scare the crap out of people sometimes right?" Sanosuke turned to Kenshin and looked him firmly in the eye. The red head had to turn away, his smile falling. "She looked familiar."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Like I've met her before," he looked back at Sanosuke. "Where was she going?"

"To town," his feet drummed on the ground. "Call the owner's of the car will ya? I'm gonna close up after they get this thing," he stood, patting the hood of the car where it was finished and ready to set sail yet again. Kenshin went over to the phone, his eyes never leaving Sanosuke as he traced the grooves in the car where the hood met the rest of the body. "Megumi," he smiled. "Cute name."

A/N: This is like a prologue, so I hope its not too boring. I may or may not continue....just depends....ill be busy so it may take me a bit....


	2. The Art of Forgetfulness

A/N: Wow, I'm really surprised that this caught on, I was just trying to get out of writer's block. I thank you all for your reviews....you all get cookies....

**The Art of Forgetfulness**

An hour later, after the owners picked up their car, Sanosuke closed up the shop, pulling down the rusted garage doors and locking it up at the bottom. Kenshin stood behind him, hands on his hips, gazing out to the twilight sun dipping just below the horizon line. The bluffs in the distance, looking like flat clouds floating along the way, were illuminated by the warm light as it sunk deeper and darker into the distance.

"You done starin' yet?" Sanosuke asked, jabbing his thumb toward his beat up Chevrolet. "We need t' get goin' before yer missus starts t' worry."

"Kaoru won't worry too much," Kenshin said, nodding his head and walking out toward the car. "I called her before you closed up."

"Good thing. I don't want her all over me again," Sanosuke walked around the back of the garage, Kenshin a few feet behind, his head turning to the bluffs once more. He was surprised that Kaoru hadn't made him leave this place yet. It was so small and there really wasn't anything there that he and Kaoru could live on for the rest of their lives, or so she said. He hadn't told Sanosuke yet, but they'd begun to look around for places to move since Kaoru was wanting to add to the family tree as of late. He wasn't sure how Sanosuke would take it if he said he was leaving. As far as the red head was aware, there really wasn't anyone else that was as close to Sanosuke as he was. Maybe the local man in drag...

Kenshin shook his head as he climbed into the passenger side of the car. "What would you do..." he began to ask. Sanosuke was revving up the car, his hand turning the key until it nearly snapped. "Sano?"

"I'm listenin'," he said, finally getting the truck to decide that it wanted to live. "You were sayin'?"

"What would you do if I moved?"

"Moved where?"

Kenshin sighed. "It's a hypothetical question."

"Oh, well...depends on where ya go I guess," Sanosuke never dug too deep into what his friend said, so it wasn't very hard to ask those 'hypothetical questions' every now and then. He never had to worry if Sanosuke would think if he was up to no good, not that he ever was. Kenshin wished that he had his friend's simplistic state of mind to live by. Then again, he probably wasn't dealing with whatever had been burning at his friend's heels for the last few years.

"I'd come and visit," Kenshin said. "It's not like I'd abandon my friends."

"Ya say that now," Sanosuke rebutted, turning up a hill that went into the civilian area of Ottway. "You're not the first t' say that t' me ya know."

"I don't mean this literally," Kenshin looked over, watching Sanosuke's eyes for any sort of luster. As far as he could see there were no real wheels turning, not that he could always be so sure. "I was just saying."

"Uh huh."

Sanosuke was only half listening now. He had turned onto Kenshin's street and was ready to bid his friend farewell. That was, until they both saw the car that was sitting in Kenshin's driveway. The powder blue beat up Cadillac sitting there. Kenshin's face paled. "Dammit, I knew that I recognized her from somewhere."

"Who is she?"

"Megumi...Jesus...I thought that should've rang a few bells."

Sanosuke turned into the driveway. "You gonna tell me or are ya just gonna pretend that I'm not here?"

"Megumi is Kaoru's step sister. They're not as close as sisters could be but...she's mentioned Megumi in passing."

Kenshin waited momentarily, not really wanting to get out of the car just yet. Sanosuke was drumming his fingers on the wheel of the car, taking in the rickety little house that Kenshin and Kaoru had tired to keep up for the longest time. Kenshin could see Sanosuke eyeing the roof that was in need of a few shingles, and the rust that was on the railing of the porch. Not to mention that the '1' in '413' on their mailbox was hanging upside down. Kenshin knew that he'd been lagging on the chores outside the home, only because he'd been working overtime at the garage, seeing if they would be able to afford a move of the magnitude that Kaoru was talking about.

"Ya better go," Sanosuke advised his friend. "Yer not gonna be able t' dodge the women forever."

"I know. I'm not trying to."

Sanosuke snorted. "Jus' go and see what happens. I gotta get goin' home before the dog pisses on the floor again."

Kenshin grimaced at his friend's statement, but got out of the car as he should. He told his friend goodbye and watched the truck driveon down the road, weaving up to the house further up on the hillside.

Kenshin stepped through the door with a smile on his face, wiping the sweat on his greasy overalls. He saw his wife sitting at the kitchen table, her hand covering the nice china teacups she kept exclusively for guests. Across from her was Megumi, laughing at what Kenshin presumed was one of his wife's off jokes. It took Kaoru a moment to look over at the red head and smile.

"You're home early."

"Sano finished up."

Kaoru nodded. "My little grease monkey. Cute idn't he?"

Megumi turned her whole body toward Kenshin, crossing her legs tightly. When she was in the car he only got a glance at her, nothing more than a profile. Now, up close, she looked a little devious with her green cat like eyes and painted red lips. "Oh, I remember you. You were working with....Sanosuke wasn't it?"

"Yes ma'am."

Megumi looked over to Kaoru and the moment their eyes met they began to laugh. Kenshin stared on blank, knowing that this was a girl thing that he would never understand. He walked by the women hoping that he could jump in the shower but he was ensnared by his wife, her hand squeezing around his elbow. "Aren't you going to give me a kiss?"

"I'm still a mess."

She pouted. "Aw Kenshin, c'mon. That hasn't stopped you before," she giggled, looking out the corner of her eye to Megumi. The step sister had turned to look toward the both of them, perched much like a cat at the foot of the bed. He didn't want to tell his wife that the gueat was making him just the slightest bit uncomfortable since, back when they were going out, he was the one that forced her to kiss him in public, something that she was uncomfortable with. Just to appease her, he pecked her on the lips and nearly tore himself away from her to go into the bathroom.

"Men," Kaoru blicked her tongue. "Can't live with 'em...."

Megumi smiled. "If only I could find one decent enough to not be embarrassed when he gets embarrassed."

"It takes a lot of looking, let me tell you that," Kaoru sipped the last of her tea up. "Kenshin's one in a million."

"Sounds like something out of a cheesy romance novel," Megumi scoffed. She leaned on the table, her eyes traveling to the bathroom door, closed, with the sound of a shower audible. "But hey, it's your life."

Kaoru shrugged. "I'm glad you came out though. I didn't think that when I asked you that you could make the time."

Megumi leaned back in her chair and uncrossed her leg, only to cross them once more. "I am busy, but I find family a little more important than my job. Not that there's really anything going on at the moment. I mean, I'm sure that Kanryuu can deal with whatever the case is without his little assistant hovering around."

"Kanryuu?"

"He's the guy I told you about on the phone," Megumi pointed out. "I think I might have called him something else though."

"I think you called him a prick," Kaoru recollected. She turned toward the bathroom when she heard the shower stop running. "You ever thought about trying to find someone out here to go out with?"

Megumi crinkled her nose. Pretending not to see her sister's bit of resentment of her lifestyle, Kaoru turned her head away and stared out the to the minimal backyard that they had, wondering if it would be enough for a child to wander around and play it. It wasn't much of a backyard to begin with. Some of the grass hadn't grown, and the only plants that she had were the vines crawling up the fence between her and the neighbor behind her. She couldn't imagine any of it begin safe for her little angel. That was why she was thinking moving somewhere a little more suburban would makes things easier to deal with.

She was always thinking about moving, but wasn't willing to pull Kenshin from the place that they had settled down in where Kenshin had a steady paying job with decent benefits. She worked as an Avon saleswoman, but around where she lived, where the customers never changed and neither did the amount of money that came in every week, her business had been rather slow. It was really the final reason that she wanted to move. She planned her motherhood out. She wanted to be at home for a least a year; no doubt Kenshin would be able to sustain a decent steady paycheck until she was ready to get back into the workforce. She wanted to be a working mom. The kind that did the PTA meetings and the soccer games but also still worked nine to five.

"You have to figure," Kaoru continued once she was out of her muse, "if you can't find a man in the city, then you apparently aren't looking for a city man are you?"

"I'm just looking for a man. Period," she said, pressing her hand on the table. "Even if he is the cliche romantic. It would at least be interesting, right?"

Kaoru shrugged. She could hear Kenshin padding up behind her. "Feel better now?" she asked, reaching back and luckily grabbing around his neck when she did. Kenshin still squirmed just the slightest bit knowing that Megumi was staring at his bare chest. "What's up with you today?" Kaoru asked, turning herself all the way around to her husband.

"I don't know," he sat at the table with the ladies hoping it would make him just a little less embarrassed, for whatever reason he was embarrased in the first place. He figured that maybe it was just that he was around Megumi, a successful looking city woman. He'd seen and knew all the women that lived in and around Ottway and even the neighboring town of Landin, so he really didn't feel the need to try and impress them like he use to before he met and married Kaoru. He started to gather that maybe it was his self conscience, seeing a woman that was analyzing his person inside out, telling him that he needed to better. Hopefully to impress Kaoru and not Megumi, but either way his self conscience was acting in strange and mysterious ways.

Sucking in the courage he turned toward Megumi and asked: "So, what brings you here?"

Megumi crossed her arms; Kenshin could feel the radiation pouring off her. She looked nice and shiny, but you really didn't want to touch her. Only a fool would go up and touch her.

"I came because Kaoru asked me. Said you guys were thinking about moving."

Kenshin nodded. "You live in the city right?"

"Yes. You thinking that I could help you find a place?"

Kenshin shrugged. "It's really more Kaoru than me. I've..." he looked at his wife and pondered his words carefully. "I've worked so hard to get us settled here it would be strange moving."

Megumi smirked. "Well, I could probably find a few places that are good for you two, if you really want to move." Kenshin noticed her swift glance to Kaoru; she had honed in on Kaoru twisting her wedding band around her finger nervously. Kenshin furrowed his brows a moment then upturned toward her confused. Maybe it was just one of her nervous tendencies; while they'd been married for six years there were still things that they didn't know about each other. When they discovered these little "gifts" they found themselves a little more excited about the partner, like it meant there was some hidden cave they could excavate. Most of the time.

Sometimes the caves were places they shouldn't go. That was why, against his common sense, he turned a blind eye to the nervous little motion that she was making and looked over to Megumi.

All the little glances, motions and thoughts had went on in a fraction of a second. Kaoru didn't even notice her husband eyeing her curiously before he turned back to Megumi. She settled her hands on the table and smiled. "I just wanted to see you to." She changed the subject completely knowing that it was making all three of them uncomfortable. "I haven't actually seen you since the wedding."

"We've exchanged e-mails though," Megumi said, almost as if she were filling Kenshin in.

"Guess that's why I haven't heard you two on the phone?"

It was dull. Kenshin was getting bored at the woman talk but for the sake of being a gentleman was bearing it knowing that it would please Kaoru. That, and it was likely he could redeem himself from his bout of embarrassment earlier. After a while, when he knew that he was no longer part of the conversation, he excused himself and went into the living room. Just as he was about to sit down and turn on the television, he heard Kaoru yell:

"Will you go pick up something from the diner?"

He paused a moment. "Sure. Want the usual?"

"Pretty please."

Kenshin smiled. His wife was so childish for being almost thirty. He went into the bedroom and pulled a shirt on, rushing out of the house when he heard the raucous laughter. There was only so much of that kind of laughter that he could take without wondering what it was that they were laughing about.

He sat in the car a few moment before he revved it up. It gave him a few moments to stare at Megumi's Cadillac and wonder why the woman would come. Kaoru and Megumi's relationship sounded very strained. They didn't seem to be able to dig any deeper than the weather without having critical glances toward one another. He couldn't understand them. Why would they sit there and talk to each other and try to bear one another when really they were ready to tear the other's head off at a moments notice?

He fought with the car to start up and wiped the thoughts from his mind. He hadn't understood womem yet so he wasn't going to try to start now. It was best if he stayed off the battlefield; it would spare him a few sleepless nights.

Once the car decided that it wanted to move, he began driving down out of the mess of houses. He could see all the toys littered about. The ble platic pools with the fish ringing them; the bicycles and footballs; hula hoops. He wasn't having the urge to have children as much as Kaoru was, but he couldn't help but wonder why where they were was a bad place to raise a child. It was safe, and it wasn't like they were cut off from all civilization. There was a gleeming metropolis twenty miles away so it wasn't like they would be missing out on the up and coming, they were just doing it at a safe distance from all the violence and stupidity that he really didn't want a child growing up around.

But that wasn't the whole reason.

He only knew Sanosuke for the past five years but was probably the one that knew him best. He didn't know much about him though. He could guess that Sanosuke had lived in Ottway or close to it for all his life and that he was raised by his father only since his mother was never mentioned. That or he just didn't like his mother, ergo, he didn't want to mention her. He didn't know if Sanosuke had finished high school, who his past girlfriends were. Hell, Kenshin thought, he didn't even know what NFL or MLB team that Sanosuke like, if he liked any at all.

Some friend.

He pulled into the dingy little diner and sighed. It was an ugly piece of crap, like the stain on your nice white carpet. It's paint was a seafoam green, peeling away to show the rusted insides. There were lights that ringed the top of it, half of which were either dead or weren't even in socket. The only part of the place that seemed to be kept in good condition were the windows, but all that showed was the local plumber. Kenshin crinkled his nose as he walked in and up to the counter.

"Sae?"

"Ah, Ken. Long time no see."

The women that were in ownership of the diner, a set of twins by the name of Tae and Sae Sekihara, had been trying hard to clean the place up as of late. He could see where the floor had been mopped and some of the torn pleather on the booths had been either patched with duck tape or replaced. Still yet there were stools at the bar that didn't match and a multitude of ring stains on the counter. Sae laughed at him.

"Insert smartass remark here," she said, her hands on her hips. "Come on request?" Kenshin nodded. "Usual?" Again, he nodded. Sae turned toward the back, throwing her head over her shoulder. "You want anything?"

"No thanks."

He took a seat on one of the mismatched stools and waiting. He could hear someone pulling up in the gravel just in front of the diner. He didn't wonder who it was until he heard the way the shoes hit the ground. He looked over his shoulder to Sanosuke, his hands in his pockets like usual. When he was off hours he wore an old pair of cowboy boots, spurs and all. "Hey," Sanosuke muttered. "Kaoru make ya?"

"Yeah," it was bad enough the waitress knew Kaoru's order, but worse that everyone knew that he was playing fetch when they saw him sitting in the diner. "What brings you here? I thought you didn't like it."

He shrugged. "I saw yer car."

"Stalking me now?"

Sanosuke sat down next to his friend. "Nope. Yer no fun to watch," he said. Sae came up to him taking his order of black coffee.

"You tried before?"

"Believe it or no," Sanosuke grunted, resting his elbows on the edge of the diner. "Ya know somethin'? Dad n' me use t' come here all the time when I was a kid. I woul' always order breakfast."

"You gonna order it now?"

"Nah. Jus' coffee."

Kenshin pondered. "What about your Mom?"

Sanosuke's ears twitched. "What about her?"

Kenshin shrugged and looked out of the corner of his eye to Sanosuke's reaction. "I was just wondering if your mother ever came with you."

There were times when Sanosuke's silences were comforting, or if they were warm. He had this air about him that created the mood of the room. He was that person at the party, no matter what the situation, could create the atmosphere that everyone else seemed to move with. He didn't even try. But, as Kenshin had also learned, while there was a comforting silence, there was also a discomforting silence as well. Sanosuke would half lid his eyes and stare at his knuckles. He could see the frustration in Sanosuke, like a bottle that was shaken too much.

"No," he muttered. "Never."

Knowing it was a good time to bail out while he was still ahead, Kenshin turned away from Sanosuke as he said: "Sorry I brought it up."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you bein' sorry? Ya didin' do a thing wrong. You were jus' askin' questions."

"I shouldn't have asked. It was a stupid question to ask."

Sanosuke shrugged and grabbed the coffee cup when Sae set it down. She offered him sugar which he curtly declined. After that she set down a large brown paper bag and stapled it shut for Kenshin. There was a bit of grease leaking out of the bottom. Kenshin paid Sae then stood to leave, but not before hitting Sanosuke's arm. "Hey."

"Hey what?"

"Seein' as it's a Friday, why don't we go out."

Sanosuke's face twisted funny. "Like a date?"

"No...no!" It took Kenshin a moment to gather his thoughts after that one. "I just meant, while the girls have a girls night how 'bout me and you have a guy's night? We'll go to the city and have a little fun," he said, winking as he did. Sanosuke's lips formed a thin line, and he turned away from his friend. "Sano?"

"Yeah, sure."

"You sure? I was just making a suggestion."

"Yeah I'm sure," Sanosuke reinforced, his voice having a mix between a faux happiness and disdain. Kenshin pretending that he didn't hear it that way. He felt that he could get Sanosuke out of whatever funk he had put him in. "Hurry and get the food home t' yer princess 'fore she starts callin' the police to wonder where ya went."

Kenshin nodded. "Just come to my place when you're done alright?"

Sanosuke nodded and shooed his friend away. Once Kenshin was gone his hand curled to a fist and slammed hard on the counter. Sae jumped at the shudder it sent through the table, her salt and pepper shakers falling over. "You alright?"

Sanosuke gulped down the coffee and left the money on the counter, hoping it was a good enough answer for the waitress.

A/N: LOng....hope ya like. Till next time, KenSan out!


	3. The Art of Drunkenness

A/N: Yays! You guys are the awesomest...glad this has any merit to it...I was just trying to clear my brain's all....

**The Art of Drunkenness**

The Gleaming Metropolis, as it was so humbly referred, was the closet thing to a New York or Los Angeles that Kenshin and Sanosuke had to go to when it came to a Friday night. It wasn't anything over the top, or even decently on the top. Cities were usually divided into certain districts: the shopping, the food, the civilian area and the red light district. This Metropolis somehow found a way to merge these areas. It took an expert to get around the place and be able to distinguish where one district started and the other one ended. Kenshin laughed to himself thinking that if they ever went to New York or L.A. there was a big chance that they would be able to find their way around much easier than the city folk. Then he laughed at thinking of the city folk trying to find their way around Metropolis. Sanosuke shot him a confused look.

"Ya on somethin'?" he asked.

"No...I was just thinking."

"Not even at the bar yet and yer goin' loopy on me," Sanosuke muttered.

Kenshin shrugged, his eyes turning toward the bar where they frequented on weekends where they decided to have a guy's night out. They walked in, eyes meeting with a few of the regulars, those who stayed glued on the bar stools or at the pool table. The place had an eerier sepia toned glow, like an old photograph. The place was only illuminated by the faux stained glass over the pool tables, casting a multicolored spectrum onto the green felt.

Kenshin and Sanosuke took their places at the counter, ordering quickly before turning up to the television screens. "Who's playing tonight?"

"I got money on the Dodgers," Sanosuke replied.

"You know I noticed something," Kenshin said, as if it were some kind of revelation he were about to reveal. As though he had found something to disprove Einstein's theory of relativity. "Whenever you bet it's when you know the other team sucks."

"Yeah, so?" he asked, lifting the rim of the beer bottle to his lips. "Gotta problem with that?"

"Don't you trust a team enough every game to bet on it?"

"Hell no."

Kenshin knew there were many aspects of him that were different from his friend. They fit all of the qualifications for the "opposites attract" checklist. First, Sanosuke drank beer where Kenshin reserved himself to maybe a glass of bourbon or Scotch. Sanosuke was into sports heavily, the guy that read the statistics in the newspaper and memorized them, as if someone was going to ask him what the batting percentage of every player. Kenshin found sport interesting, but he knew in all respects that his wife was a bigger sports fan than he was. At least she knew the dynamics of a football game. (He had to remind himself to never tell that to Sanosuke.) Kenshin wanted the American dream. The house with the picket fence, the 2.31 kids and the dog. He wanted the white collar job where he would come home and kiss his wife, and then they would be happy for the rest of their lives. Sanosuke would settle for anything above being homeless, so said the late payments on his shanty that he called a house. He'd nearly been on the eviction block twice, Kaoru offering lodging to him both times which Kenshin was convinced scared Sanosuke enough to raise the funds to pay his rent. Last but not least was their lease on life though. Kenshin was the ultimate optimistic; he saw a bright future for everyone and everything around him, and was the first to jump on the "every cloud has a silver lining" spiel the moment something bad happened. If he slipped for a moment and let the dark corners of the world sink in, he had to find his own silver lining to make things all better. He'd yet to fail. But then there was Sanosuke who was ultimately the realist. He said things as they were, wasn't afraid to be embarrassed or humiliated, and knew that not everything was tea and crumpets.

"Ah," was all Kenshin could respond. He sipped the Scotch, turning around at the sound of stilhetto heels coming in after the door sounded. They weren't alone, which meant either it was a red light prostitute, or...

"Sano baby!" Kamatari, the source of the screechy voice and stiletto heels, called out. Sanosuke hardly batted an eyelash, turning around to look at the flamboyant pair that had come through the door. The thing about Gleaming Metropolis' red light district was the lack of luster that most usually had. Though skanky as they were, there was always a pretty girl if you looked in the right place. But from where the two mechanics hailed, there was a different story.

Honjo Kamatari was widely praised for his nearly perfected imitation of a female. His hair was always nicely coiffed, his clothes brand new; either pressed or shined, and his make up worked with his abnormal, male body structure. For what he lacked in natural parts he made up for in character. It may have been strange to befriend the character, but once you got to know him, there was always an interesting relationship afterward, assuming that Kamatari had selected you to be one of his friends.

Sanosuke it seemed, was on the top of his list of friends. Sanosuke was never a client, just one of the people in the bar that interested Kamatari. Like all other bar dwellers, Sanosuke was the type that mulled over his own circumstances, looking into his drink and seeing past actions and future possibilities, but contrary to the normal bar dwellers, once Kamatari spoke to him, he seemed to come alive.

"Ya brought Katsu tonight?" Sanosuke asked, catching the eye of the man on Kamatari's arm. Kenshin had failed to recall Katsu immediately, not necessarily thinking of him as Sanosuke's friend. The long haired man was never around Sanosuke enough to be more than an acquaintance, at least not to the red head's knowledge. The two stepped over to the mechanics, taking a seat at the bar and ordering drinks.

"Well, Katsu actually brought me. Said something about a game?"

"Dodgers," Sanosuke answered. He looked past the transvestite to his long haired acquaintance. "Ya spend money on 'im to bring him to a bar?" Sanosuke scoffed.

"He's not paying for this one," Kamatari said. "Since nothing's really happening." Kamatari sipped on the Coke with rum he'd ordered, looking up at the baseball game, pretending he was interested.

Kenshin shuddered. After all this time he thought that he would get use to being around Kamatari, but no matter what that cold chill always went down his back. Kamatari, keen on noting these sorts of reactions, laughed him off, as he always did. Kenshin closed his eyes.

"You know, if you don't like me, just say it," Kamatari muttered.

"It's not that I..." but he couldn't bring himself to lie like that. He looked at Kamatari as sincerely as he could, then lowered his head. Maybe truly it was that Kamatari scared him, for whatever reason that may be. He shuddered more. "I'm sorry," he finished.

"You and everyone else sweetheart," Kamatari chuckled. "You act like I haven't been rejected before."

Kenshin noticed Katsu's hand slide onto the transvestite's, as if it were some sort of token of affection rather than Katsu just trying to stop an argument. Kenshin stood and told them that he'd been in the bathroom if they needed him. Sanosuke barely looked over, indulged in conversation about some past thing that had happened to the three friends.

Inside the restroom he sulked. He needed to find that silver lining he so eagerly told everyone to believe in, but for some reason his mind was drawing a blank and his heart was racing wildly. Call it frustrated, but he couldn't even relieve himself the more he thought about it. It just festered there. What was it? The lack of understanding of everything that was around him.

Kenshin didn't like to think of it in this manner, but he had moved out to Ottway just for Kaoru. It was the kind of place she had grown up in and she wanted to stay in, at least for a little while longer. He could understand Megumi maybe better than anyone. She was a city dweller, use to all the hustle and bustle, the fight for the survival, the heirarchy that money and status produced. He was foolish to think that he could have adjusted to such a lifestyle.

He hadn't told Kaoru any of that though.

The bathroom had a rotten smell to it, a mix between fresh vomit and stale piss. There were awkward grunting noises coming from behind one of the graffittied stales. Kenshin went to wash his hands, feeling the filth already. He closed his eyes, imagining his family...what was his family. He hadn't seen his father in a long time, and probably wouldn't for even longer. He didn't intend to come crawling back to him, begging for mercy, he just wasn't like that. He'd make due with what he had to deal with, just to spite his father. It wouldn't be too hard, all he had to do was be a responsible adult.

Kaoru had never met or seen his nuclear family. He didn't want them around ruining everything like they always did. He'd invited a few aunts and uncles to the wedding, making it clear to them not to invite his parents. It was a small wedding; Kaoru's family wasn't very large either, but at least her father was there to give her away. Her father like Kenshin dearly, saying to him once that he was glad there was an upstanding man that would take care of his daughter.

He sighed, ready to walk out of the bathroom. Lost in his own thoughts he ran right into a block of a person, his nose squishing in the man's greasy shirt. He made a few apologies, moving past the guy. There was an awkward grunt from the guy, but he didn't seem to want to get involved with Kenshin.

Back out into the bar he saw that Kamatari was trying to break away from Sanosuke, Katsu pulling him along. He could tell by Katsu's persistance that something had changed about the night; that and there was a leafy green piece of paper sticking out of the top of Kamatari's dress. Kenshin sat down, waving good bye to the "couple" thinking to himself that it was best that they were leaving. It was a guy's night after all.

"That was weird," Sanosuke muttered.

"What'd I miss?"

"Nothing. Katsu's jus' strange."

"Huh..."

"I know ya don't like 'em."

"Hm?" Kenshin turned up toward Sanosuke, the man now facing him dead on. Kenshin got awkward in these moments.

"I know ya don't like 'em. Their not you I get it."

"You mad at me?" Kenshin asked.

"Naw...why would I be? People can't get along with everybody," he started to chuckle. "Not even you buddy boy," Sanosuke grabbed Kenshin's shoulder's and hugged them tightly. It was that sort of thing that made him feel a bit more at home. Like Sanosuke were his brother or something.

Kenshin looked up the screen seeing that the Dodgers were already up in the first inning and had a man on second base. He glanced over to Sanosuke, then wondered to himself was he was being so difficult with himself about all these problems. It didn't really matter what these people around here thought of him. He fit right into the society; it wasn't as if he were aristocratic or something like that. He found his silver lining quickly, smiled, and looked back at Sanosuke as he said:

"Well, looks like you're winning your bet so far. Who'd ya bet against anyways?"

"Kamatari. And it ain't over just yet. We got eight innings to go. I've seen teams be up after a grand slam and some and still lose."

"And this is why I don't get baseball," Kenshin admitted. Sanosuke shoved him a little.

"Don't sweat it too much," his friend said. He ordered another beer, his mood seeming to lighten up. Kenshin looked around at the crowd. It was a steady group of people. Not too heavy where it wasn't so late, and not too barren that it was so early. He liked the idle chit chat, listening to the bits and pieces of other people's conversations. And then there was his friend smiling, enjoying himself, actually being part of the world around him.

"You ever had a girl?" he asked, realizing that he'd thought of these questions earlier. He thought that it would be a good time to ask him.

"Girl?"

"Yeah. A girlfriend. Ya know...in the past?"

"Uh..." Sanosuke looked up at the ceiling, his fingers tapping on the bar counter. "Several."

"Like who?" Kenshin asked, trying to lead Sanosuke to a name.

"Like chicks who's names I can't remember." Sanosuke said. "Just a few broads ya know?"

"Like...in high school?" Sanosuke choked a little after taking a large sip of the beer. "You okay?"

"Yeah...fine. Went down the wrong ways all," he replied. "Yeah in high school. Where else?"

"I don't know. Thought maybe you might have been seeing someone and wasn't tell me," Kenshin shrugged.

Sanosuke shook his head. "As if," he scoffed. "I haven't found a good chick in while. Not one that does anything if ya know what I mean," Kenshin wished he didn't but there was no denying he did. "There was this one once, real beautiful lady ya know? Cute face, nice body. She was a real Christian little girl though. Her brother didn't really like me much but, she was nice. And then some nights we would sneak off into the distance," he said, as if he were living in a reverie. "That was one of the only good one's after high school. Can't really remember her though."

"That's too bad. She sounds nice."

"It was a Christian name though," Sanosuke recalled. "I think."

"Ah," Kenshin sipped down the rest of his Scotch and debated on ordering another one. Kaoru really didn't like it when he was drunk. There were consequences to coming home drunk on a Friday night, one's he really wasn't willing to deal with, especially since Kaoru was so eager to have a son or daughter. He shrugged his shoulders and thought that maybe another glass wouldn't hurt, especially since Megumi was there.

"I hope I'm not being nosy if I ask this but...did you finish high school?" Kenshin asked, taking the glass after the bartender filled it. Sanosuke shrugged.

"What's it matter?"

"I don't know. Nothing I guess. I was just wondering if maybe ya did. I just really don't know," he admitted.

"Yeah I finished. Doesn't seem like it does it?" he asked, nudging Kenshin's arm. "Hasn't done much good."

"What do you mean?"

"Pfft. Whatdya mean what do I mean? C'mon, not like having a diploma around here's really gonna help ya much. I mean, you might have a bit better job at the grocery store, if that's what ya want," he shrugged. "I was gonna go t' college too if yer asking but..."he stopped and looked up at the television, the screen flickering for a moment. A streak of lightning flash across the sky. "Freakin' heat lightning," Sanosuke shook his head. "Screws up all reception."

"I don't know if that's heat lightning," Kenshin contradicted. "Wasn't it suppose to rain tonight?" Sanosuke shrugged.

"What else didja have planned fer tonight?" Sanosuke asked.

"I really wasn't planning anything for tonight. I just wanted to get out of the house," Kenshin turned his whole body toward the crowd of people. "That a bad thing?"

"Yer predictable. And here I thought you were gonna grow some balls." Not sure what Sanosuke meant, the red head let him continue on. "Well, I mean, I know yer the whole family man and such, but I've noticed that you and Kaoru--"

"Me and Kaoru what?" Kenshin found himself defending, his fists clenching. The brown haired man shrugged, his hand rubbing the back of his neck. "Sano, me and Kaoru what? What are you talking about?"

"Tension."

"Tension? What tension?"

"No guy wants to "get outta the house" unless there's somethin' goin' on," Sanosuke said. "Not normally anyways."

"If you haven't noticed," Kenshin said in a heated voice, "I'm not what you call normal." He said this with pride too. He knew that he wasn't normal, but not normal in the good way.

"I didn't say that you weren't did I?" Sanosuke countered. "Sheesh, ya get so defensive. And I thought I had issues."

"I don't have issues," Kenshin crossed his arms tight.

"Yeah, keep tellin' yerself that," Sanosuke said, sucking down the last of the beer. "Ya wouldn't mind bein' the designated driver wouldja?"

"It's your car," Kenshin said, voice still heated where Sanosuke had conveniently found a way to change the subject.

Sanosuke under his chin. "I mean until we get back home. So I don't get caught by the cops. I already got one strike against me, I don't need another."

Kenshin rolled his eyes. "Yeah...whatever."

* * *

Kenshin had drank more than he usually did, not that Sanosuke objected in the slightest, so long as he stayed the slightest bit more sober than the taller mechanic. Kenshin drove then home, the roads rather clear. The sky was illuminated by the random flashes of heat lightning streaking across a velvety sky. Kenshin pulled up into his drive, noticing the glow of a cigarette. He knew that it could only be Megumi since Kaoru wasn't a smoker. He shook his head and got out of the car. Things could have been better, or they could have been worse.

"Thanks man!" Sanosuke yelled out, getting out of the car, wobbling a bit as he went around to the driver's side. Kenshin disappeared inside, the hushed voices between him and Kaoru audible outside. Sanosuke glanced over his shoulder to Megumi, staring at his amused. "Som'thin' in'tr'stin'?" he stuttered out. He stepped up onto the porch, plopping next to Megumi in the plastic deck chair.

"No. I was just watching you."

"Ah," he nodded. "W-why?"

"Because you look like a circus fool," she said. "Reminds me of when I went once. I saw the clown taking a few sips off of a flask. Ruins the fun," she said, "'Specially when your ten," she stubbed out the cigarette, ready to stand up. Sanosuke had relaxed in the chair, staring blankly up to the sky.

"Ya k-know som'thin'?"

Megumi stopped, turning toward the mechanic. There was something about his voice, even if it was drunk. "Humor me."

"What rweally ruins the fun?" he laughed a little. "K-knowin' thin's yer f-friend's too uh...blind t' see."

"Oh?" Megumi looked over her shoulder. "You mean Kenshin?"

"Shhh," his hands waved. "Don't ruin the s'prise fer 'im," he stood up, stumbling a bit toward the stairs. Megumi grabbed his hand, held out as a way to balance himself.

"What do you mean?"

He turned around and in a flash of lightning she saw him wink at her. "Yull see," he nodded. "Rweally."

Megumi looked over to the table sitting between the two plastic chairs. There was a pen sitting out for whatever reason. She picked it up and began to write on Sanosuke's hand, the man laughing as she did.

"Call when your sober," she said. "We'll talk then," she closed his hand, patting his knuckles, feeling rough scars across them. "Just...call will you?"

"Uh...sure. Why not?" he laughed out, rubbing the back of his head. "Fer ya pretty woman."

He stumbled down the stairs, nearly running into the car door. Megumi turned toward the house sighing, seeing Kenshin walking away from Kaoru. What she was sure Kaoru didn't see and Kenshin didn't notice was the way his fists were clenched. She turned back to the car Sanosuke was maneuvering out of the drive, the headlights turning and blinding her. Maybe Kaoru was right; maybe she needed a country boy.

A/N:...so...whats up with ken...and what about sano and Megumi? Till next time, KenSan out!


	4. The Art of a Hangover

A/N: I haven't updated this for I don't know what reason because I am teeming with ideas...

**The Art of a Hangover**

Kenshin got up the morning, learning that he was the last one to get up. He shuffled into the kitchen, wincing at the bright light coming in through the sliding doors just behind that kitchen table. Megumi was sitting at the table, sipping coffee and looking at the paper that was several days old.

Kenshin moved past the woman without a word, bending over the kitchen sink and turning the tap on, his hands stuck under the water. He grabbed a washcloth and put it under the water, dabbing his forehead after the cloth was wetted. "You a late riser?" Megumi asked, grating against Kenshin's eardrums. He acted like it didn't hurt but it was obvious where he visibly winced.

"No, not usually," he whispered, continuing to dab his forehead to tone down the dull pounding. "I'm usually up before the crack of dawn."

"You don't work today?" Megumi asked.

"No. Why?"

"I saw your partner drive by this morning, thought you worked too." She sipped at her coffee more, hiding her expression behind the wide rim of the cup.

"Sano works on Saturday's by himself, just because he wants something to do," Kenshin leaned down into the sink, pulling his hair back where it was dipping into the sink bed. "I--I'm sorry I'm not in high spirits this morning," he said, feeling himself lurch forward, his hands gripping the sides of the sink. "I drank a little too much last night."

"No tolerance?" Megumi watched him and he scooted along the counter, reaching out for a glass.

"Plenty of tolerance," he said, lightly shaking his head. "I just...went over my limit is all."

"Go back to bed if you don't need to go to work. I won't steal anything," Megumi said, her hand up as if she were swearing, "promise."

Kenshin turned to look at her, smiling.

He approached her, pressing the rag against his forehead, the sweat beginning to bubble up through his pores. He heaved a sigh, leaning on the face of the table. "Where's Kaoru?"

"She said she was going grocery shopping. She went into town around eight or nine."

Kenshin looked over at the clock on the stove reading that it was 11:27. Kenshin shook his head, rubbing the rag over his forehead. "She won't be back around three or four this afternoon. Grocery shopping is just shopping. You should have went with her, we have cute little shops around here."

"I thought about it," Megumi said, "but then again, I really shouldn't be spending money. I just moved into a new apartment with a lease. I really don't want anything to sabotage that," she said. She drained the remainder of the coffee, looking into the cup. "So what did you guys do last night?" Megumi asked.

"What did we...not much. We just went to a bar in the city and watched a Dodgers' game. I watched my friend win a few bucks so, guess that's good."

"Nothing else?"

"I'm no good at pool and he's kind of a lump. In the good way I mean," Kenshin laughed a little bit. "I shouldn't say anything like that. Sano's a good person. You'll do good to get to know him."

"He your only friend?"

Kenshin laid his head in his arms and squirmed in the chair. He really didn't want to tell her that it was the truth, but Sanosuke was just about the only person that he was capable of talking to and dealing with. Though he could talk civilly with other people, but he couldn't speak honestly with other people. He could speak pretty honestly with Sano without feeling there would be any repercussions in what he would say.

"You always have that one true friend right?" Kenshin asked rhetorically, ending the conversation. "I think I will go back to bed."

"Take a garbage can with you," Megumi suggested. "You never know what might happen."

Kenshin laughed because Megumi was obviously being a bit facetious in what she was saying.

After Kenshin had went to bed, making it apparent that he didn't want to be disturbed by closing the door, Megumi stood up from the table and grabbed her purse.

Megumi had been the first one to get up that morning. She was showering and getting ready for the day when Kaoru awoke. Kaoru wasn't necessarily trying to be a bitch, but there was only so much of it that the woman could hide. Megumi tried to pry into what was making her step-sister mad, though she could easily guess it by the way that she and her husband were speaking coldly to one another the night before. Kaoru wouldn't budge despite Megumi's attempts and left shortly after she had gotten dressed, not even taking the time to jump in the shower and get ready.

Megumi walked out onto the porch, gazing around at the cramp little neighborhood that Kaoru lived in. It was already warm at the time it was, the porch neatly shaded by the trees that surrounded it.

Megumi went to her car and revved it up, ready to go and drive around to see if there was anything to do. Just as she was pulling out she heard her cellphone go off, prompting her to slam her foot on the break and dig it out of her purse. She was hanging out the driveway halfway, but it didn't look like anyone in the neighborhood was really all that awake yet.

"Hello?" she answered.

"So I wasn't jus' dreamin'," a voice said. Megumi though a moment then brought down her phone to look at the number. She wasn't familiar with it, but as she began to remember the night before, talking to Sanosuke where he was drunk off his rocker, she realized that he had taken a chance and called the number that Megumi had written on his hand.

"Who is this?" she asked, well aware of who it was.

"Sano, you remember?"

"I do," she said, laughing. "Glad you called."

"Why?"

"I was getting bored."

Sanosuke snickered. "Real easy to do 'round here," he replied.

"Well, maybe you can help me out of it."

Megumi heard him pause and wondered if maybe she had lost the connection. She could hear him breathing. It wasn't a normal human breathing; it was a hitched, slightly turned on breathing. It was subtle though. It was not easily picked up, especially over the phone. "Sano?"

"I'm here," he said. "What can I do for ya?"

"Mind if I come up and watch you work?"

"There ain't much going on here," he said. "I haven't had a car all day."

"Guess that will leave more time for the two of us to get to know each other then, won't it?" Megumi asked.

Megumi had a feeling Sanosuke was perceiving this conversation in a much different light than it actually was in. The truth was that Megumi was intending to be an entirely innocent, yet civil, person. She was well aware that the things she were saying could be taken out of context; even to the point that they were somewhat sexual or hinting at a relationship. She laughed to herself, listening to the silence that was on the other line. She wanted Sanosuke to be like this. She wasn't a complete sadist, but she did like toying with people somewhat.

_And who knows_, she thought, _maybe this will go somewhere._

After a little more conversation, Megumi hung up her phone and started to drive down into town, looking at all the houses along the way. She couldn't blame her step-sister for wanting to move, but she was surprised at the husband's reluctance.

If there was something that Megumi could read off of Kenshin, it was the fact that the red head was indeed a city boy. He was the kind of guy that was use to everything fast paced and particularly uncomfortable. He was use to being cramped, to there being destruction on every street corner, and watching some weird nouveau-bohemianism arise in the people around him. Megumi also had to guess, by Kenshin's relative coolness, the he enjoyed being able to be above these things when other people fell prey to them. Not to say that he was cold or even relatively dark, but that he could take these things and come out the other end with a smile on his face.

Megumi pulled up to the garage like she had the other day, only this time she looked at it with curiosity instead of confusion. She turned off the car and got out, walking up to Sanosuke who seemed oblivious to her arrival.

There was an old radio sitting on a red cabinet of tools, the reception of it cutting in and out. Sanosuke was leaning back in his chair, balancing on the back two legs and staring at the high ceiling of the garage. Megumi pulled out a bottle of lotion and dabbed a bit of it on her fingers. She wiped it under her nose, hoping the smell of freesia would block out the smell of oil.

The front feet of Sanosuke's chair came crashing down, startling the woman. After a few seconds Megumi regained her composure and smiled to the man.

"What have ya got under your nose?" he asked.

"It smells in here."

"Really?" he sniffed. "I've been her too long."

Megumi saw another chair a few feet away and proceeded to grab it and unfold it next to Sanosuke. "Well, I'm here," she said.

"Yeah, and?" Megumi shrugged. Obviously Sanosuke was trying not to give away the fact that Megumi had partially aroused him along the journey of their conversation. "Ya want me to entertain ya?"

"No. Just thought I should let you know."

Sanosuke rolled his eyes. "Man yer somethin'," he muttered, running his hands down his face. Sweat dripped down his forehead, his large palms wiping it off. "Where is it ya come from?"

"Cincinnati," she said. "A good three or four hours from here."

"Been there done that," Sanosuke said, rolling his shoulders.

"You lived there?"

"There? Yes and no."

"So we have common ground," Megumi said.

"Ya takin' notes?"

"No."

Their conversation ended for a moments, then Megumi asked: "Did you grow up there?"

"No. I lived there fer a short time, few years back."

"Did you grow up here?"

Sanosuke nodded and sighed. "I know you women are into this whole 'gettin' ta know ya' crap and whatnot. It's fine by me but if ya got somethin' ya wanna say, it ain't gonna matter if you say it now or after ya know my mother's maiden name. Either way, it;ll come out the same."

Megumi cocked a brow. "Ho ho. Mr. Macho. I like that."

Sanosuke blushed, proceeding to rise up on the back legs of the chair again. "That's not quite what I meant."

"I know what you meant," Megumi was close to putting her hands on her hips, but she knew that would look stupid since she was sitting down. She crossed her arms and leaned back in the chair getting a good look of Sanosuke's face, the shades of red narrowly receding from it. "Cut to the chase right?"

"Right what?"

"That's what you meant. You want me to just come out and say whatever it is you think I want to say."

"I'm don' think ya wanna say anythin'. I was jus' sayin' quit the interrogatin' because it won't getcha nowhere and even if it does, it won't change the fact that you're gonna tell me whatever ya wanna tell me."

"Well I never," Megumi turned away from Sanosuke, but she wasn't entirely insulted. Truth be told, Megumi wasn't usually one to 'interoggate' as Sanosuke put. She found that most of the time, getting to know one another was something that came first in her relationships. She couldn't remember the last time that she has actually done something with a guy on the first date. Then again, she also couldn't remember the last time that 'first date' became a 'second date'. She lowered her head and sighed.

"You were trying to tell me something last night about Kenshin and Kaoru."

Sanosuke, once again interested in their conversation, pushed the chair back onto all four feet and looked at Megumi curiously. "When? Last night?"

"You said something...I can't really remember what it was because it was late."

"I...can't really help ya there."

Megumi found that they were in a very close proximity of each other. Sanosuke was leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, staring at her with a smile crossing his face.

"You get too drunk?"

"Pretty much," Sanosuke bobbed his head. "Kenshin did too though. I remember Missy yellin' at him 'cause of it."

Megumi rolled her shoulders. "You're not...gay are you?" Megumi asked suddenly. Sanosuke's lips puckered, his face almost fish like. Megumi giggled. "Don't take it any wrong way, it's just a question."

"No...not as far as I'm aware."

"Okay," she let out a heavy sigh, her hand at her chest. She didn't think Sanosuke was gay, but it was one of those standard questions that she liked to ask guys. "I was just..."

"Are ya wantin' to go out or somethin'?"

"No! No!" Megumi exclaimed. "I like getting to know people and...well....sexuality is something that I like getting out of the way because, I don't wanna go and offend somebody some way...ya know?"

Sanosuke shrugged and stood up. "Yeah. Whatever ya say."

"You don't believe me do you?" Megumi accused, turning around in her chair so she could see where Sanosuke was. The spiky haired man shrugged. "You don't, well, I'll have you know that I am going out with a great guy right now and that I wouldn't date you in a million years!"

Then came the tumultuous laughter from Sanosuke. Megumi's face started draining of color, not because he was laughing, or because she had just said what she said despite all of the questions that she was posing toward Sanosuke, but it was because she had completely cornered herself in her endeavors. Maybe, and she considered this for a few seconds, maybe she had immediately been attracted to this guy, though she wasn't completely sure why. There was nothing about him that was entirely attractive, at least not when you immediately saw him, but overall, as she kept looking, she found something there that had caught her interest. By telling him that she was not only 'with' a guy but 'with a _great_guy' she had completely and utterly screwed herself. Above that, even if Sanosuke saw past the fact that she indeed _didn't_have a boyfriend, then she has sealed the deal by saying that she wouldn't go out with him. But, Sanosuke seemed to be a little different...

"Yer goin' out with a 'great' guy ya say? Who are ya kiddin'?"

"I beg your pardon?" Megumi held her head high still, not wanting to admit defeat.

"Like a woman like you would sleep 'round. Really? Yer much to proper to even hand out yer number t' another guy, let alone sleep with another guy if this one is so 'great'," and to top it off, Sanosuke air-quoted 'great'.

"Who says?"

"I says," Sanosuke said. "And I'm 'bout t' prove ya wrong," he said. "Ya wouldn't go out with me ya say?"

"Yep. Not in a million years." She had her eyes closed and her head held as high as it could go without looking snobbish. Maybe that was why she was surprised when a pair of lips landed on her, her balance wavering. Sanosuke had firm hold of her, his hands tight at the small of her back. For a moment she thought it sick that he would just come up and kiss her, but then she indulged. Just as she was getting comfortable with the taste he let go and backed away.

Megumi stood stunned, her arms falling heavy at her sides. Her lips tingled. The smell of freesia was overpowered by a strange musk that was a blend of cologne and motor oil. "I..."

"Change yer mind?"

Megumi's cheeks were turning ten different shades of red despite her damnedest to not be overcome. The musk was a disgusting yet enticing smell, one that she wouldn't get tired of quickly, but one that could easily have been overpowering; one that would knock her flat on her back and be ready to get into the game.

"No," she said still, holding her ground. Sanosuke shook his head.

"'Kay. Whatever..."

Megumi clenched her fists. She wasn't done just yet.

A/N: Cliffhangerish I think...were will it go? No one know...heehee...till next time, KenSan out!


	5. The Art of Great Conversation

A/N: Kay, time for the next chapter!

**The Art of Great Conversation**

"Don't 'whatever' me Mister Sano," Megumi stood back, her arms crossed, her back straight and her head high. "I won't let you disregard me like that."

"Oh, ya won't will ya?" retorted Sanosuke. He flicked off the radio leaving just the soft whistling of the wind outside to keep them company. "So, what, ya wanna take back whatcha said?"

"I would ne..."but for some reason Megumi couldn't bring herself to lie to this man. She could out bullshit just about everyone, and for whatever reason. She was a lawyer, and she was learning to be a damn good one. But even at that she couldn't stare this man in the eye and lie to him. Something about Sanosuke seemed different. A genuity washed through him. It covered him more than his skin covered his muscle and bone. His down to earth approach created a void that she couldn't worm her way out of. No, Megumi Takani could not bring herself to lie to this man. So instead she smiled, swallowing her words as she kept her prideful stance.

Sanosuke stepped lightly over to her, his hands behing his back. "What's that now?" he said, stepping as close to her as he could without actually touching. "Ya may wanna speak up, I can' quite hear ya."

Megumi's arms dropped to her sides and her foot started stubbing into the ground. She was imagining what this scene must have looked like in someone else's point of view. The way she stood erect, pretending she was holding her ground while her stern face melted away to an honest sincerity, blush covering her cheeks; Sanosuke, hovering over her with a hand cupped at his ear, a promiscuous smile on his face. Maybe it wasn't entirely innocent, but it seemed set up like a Norman Rockwell painting.

"I didn't say a thing," she said calmly. "Not one thing."

"Oh, I don' believe that."

Sanosuke circled her like a vulture. Megumi could feel him taking in every inch of her, his brain remembering every curve, every bat of the eyelashes and twitch in her lips. When he finished he put his hand on his chin, leaning back to examine her much like an artist before saying: "Have I got a proposal for you."

Megumi had heard many lines in her life, but she'd never heard that one; at least, she hadn't heard that one when it came to a man trying to ask her out on a date. Then again, Megumi was assuming that he was trying to ask her on a date.

"What's that?"

He shrugged, walking back into the garage. "I was thinkin', now this is just thinkin'," in which we all know that Sanosuke tried to avoid. "Maybe you'd like t' accompany me int' town t'night."

Megumi's fingers knitted behind her back. "Oh? Like a date?"

"Naw, nothin' like that," he answered smoothly. "I wouldn't wanta impede on you and yer beau," he winked to her. "I was jus' thinkin' I could show ya around and whatnot. I wanna assume yer stayin' her fer longer than the weekend, or is that jus' me?" he asked. Sanosuke enjoyed staying in a close vicinity of Megumi. She was keeping her guard up, unsure if he was going to try and nab another kiss without her knowing.

"Let's say I am," and she was, but she wasn't going to let him know that entirely. "You want to show me around so I can...be comfortable with it?"

"Yeah, let's go with that." He paused, his face changing emotions real quickly. Megumi looked over her shoulder to a car that was pulling in next to hers. Unfamiliar with it, she backed off from Sanosuke thinking that it was a customer.

"Hey Katsu!" Sanosuke yelled out. His voice went from voluptuous to apathetic. "I din't think I'd see ya till Monday."

"What makes you say that?" the long haired artist asked. Megumi returned to her seat and crossed her legs. She sat still for moment, but then she indulged herself in playing with one of the large wrenches that was lying nearby.

"You and Kamatari took off awful fast," he said. When Megumi looked back up Sanosuke had his hands in his pockets. She could read his body language very easily. He was tight, almost suffocated looking, even if he seemed outwardly pleased. The look on his face meant nothing to the way that he walked. His gait was stiff, his legs close together and the toes of his shoes touching the heels. "I was wonderin' where the fire was."

"I got a little excited. We got home and I chickened out," he admitted. He folded his arms on one of the red tool chests, his chin resting on his arms. "I mean, Kamatari's got this jive thing, but when I get down to it..."

"Yer such a wuss."

Sanosuke started creating distance. He went to the other side of the room, messing around with some of his tools that were on a table, running a dirty cloth over them.

"I can't help it. He's just...too much for me I guess. And I'm too scared to try and find someone else."

"Tell me Kamatari gave ya yer money back."

Megumi was turning her head between the two like it was a tennis match. "I wish. We get close enough that he wouldn't. Said he hadn't gotten any customers lately so he needed the money. It's not like I was wanting to give the money away, but then again, he's still a friend."

Sanosuke sighed. "Why dontcha jus' tell him ya like him, that way you don't gotta keep payin' him for doin' jack," Sanosuke said. He refused to look at his friend. The tone in his voice was fluctuating between faux pleasure and his true apathetic voice. "Kama's an understandin' kind of guy. And who knows, maybe that'll help ya grow some balls."

"Thanks Sano," Katsu shot back. "That helps me so much. You're such a saint."

Sanosuke shrugged. "I don't know what else I coul' tell ya. I mean, that's all I know thatcha could do." He finally turned around, but even then he was still wiping grime away from his tools. "Let's drop this 'kay? I got a lady-friend here if ya din't notice," he nearly hissed, his head bobbing toward Megumi. the woman stood up, walking over to Katsu, shaking his hand and introducing herself. Katsu smiled back at her.

"Oh, I get it," he said, holding his hands up defensively after a moment. Megumi turned back to Sanosuke, but whatever he did to garner that reaction out of Katsu must have vanished. "I'll leave. I didn't know there was anything going on."

"I beg your pardon?" Megumi fumed. She turned to look at Sanosuke, snickering to himself. She relaxed her shoulders. "It's nothing like that," she said, "I'm just a friend. That's what he said, and that's what he meant." She said it as affirmatively as she could, both defending herself to the fact that she and Sanosuke weren't going out, and Sanosuke to the fact that he always said what he meant to say.

"I'm sorry," he said, bobbing his head. "I meant nothing by it m'am. I need to be going anyways, so, I'll see ya later Sano?"

Sanosuke nodded, saying good-bye to Katsu. Once he left, Megumi turned to him, sighing. "Well, now that he's gone, where did we leave off?"

"I don't know."

Megumi smirked. "I do. You were saying something about taking me out, but it wasn't a date."

"Right, right," he said, walking up to her. He took the wrench where she still had it clutched in her hand. "So, ya wanna take me up on that proposal, 'cause if ya say no now there is no later." Once again he was obnoxiously close, but it was almost comforting. Megumi could see his dark brown eyes, and the lines that chiseled his high cheek bones. He gave her a momentary smile, laughing somewhat.

"Sure. That sounds great."

"I can close the shop up if ya wanna go now," he asked.

"No, I couldn't do that to you. You might regret it if someone came by and actually needed help." Sanosuke walked away from her again, putting the wrench up.

"Well, I'll pick you up at three then, 'cause that's when I close up." After that, he didn't say a word to her, as if she didn't exist.

Megumi didn't stay for long because of this, but she did stay long enough to watch him as he bustled about, whistling to himself. It was a strange way to treat someone, ignoring them after you'd asked them out. It was memorable, but at the same time it made a chill go up her spine. Sanosuke's frequent switches between being lively and apathetic were Oscar worthy, but concerned her on a psychological level. She noted his anti-social tendencies, but was amazed that it was only directed toward his friend, instead of her where she supposed it should have been.

He was on the nose at three o'clock. He honked the horn and everything, waving his hand out the window. Megumi walked out of the house, looking back at Kenshin who seemed to be sulking at the kitchen table while he read a book. Kaoru had yet to return from her shopping adventure, which no doubt concerned the husband.

"I'm worried." Megumi said immediately after she'd gotten in the car.

"What 'bout?"

"Kenshin and Kaoru. They don't seem to be doing too well."

Sanosuke lowered his head. "Ya wanna know how they met?" he asked, pulling out of the driveway as Kaoru was pulling in. Megumi wasn't really sure she wanted to know, but her curiosity was getting the best of her. "They met at this frou-frou dinner thing that one a his old girlfriend's pulled him too. Now, keep in mind, this is what he tol' me. But, anyways, Kaoru'd been havin' this bad time. She'd basically been dumped there, boyfriend ran off with some dumb blond or whatever, an' Kenshin was gettin' bored. His girlfriend was the chatty type," Sanosuke took a breath, laughing. "They jus' sorta started to talk to one another and voila," he said, "happy couple. Or, at least they were. But the truth is they ain't really all that good a pair, at least I don't think so. I mean, yeah, in terms of married couples they're great. Ya can't get better than them but...there's something missing between them."

"I can't really be a judge," Megumi said. "I just noticed they were fighting."

"It hasn't happened before," Sanosuke mentioned. "They jus' started over this whole baby thing. He isn't sure he can support them."

"He told you that?"

"Naw, but ya can tell. He wants t' be a typical head of the family an' he doesn't think he can be. Not now. So..."

"Your pretty observant."

Sanosuke choked a laugh. "Naw, not really. I'm not diff'rent than anyone else. An' when ya live out here, ya sorta know everyone's dirty laundry. I jus' hope nothin' bad happens t' them."

"I don't think it will. He's too good of a guy, at least what I can tell. And she's too stubborn to let him go. She's always been stubborn like that."

Sanosuke nodded. "Ya know, it's pretty easy t' talk t' ya," Sanosuke said. "Compared t' some."

"Do you trust me?" she asked.

"Wha--"he took a moment to compose himself. "What do ya mean? Like..."

"I mean, do you trust me not to lie to you?" Megumi asked, though she knew she never would.

"I wouldn't believe you to, no. Lie I mean."

"Why not?"

Sanosuke shrugged. "Ya may be the type, ya may not, but ya just don't seem it right now."

He pulled up in front of a small restaurant that was only a little better than the diner in the town. "I know it looks like crap but it's got good food."

"I don't mind. I guess you're not going to let me pay?" she asked, but she had a feeling of the answer she was going to get. She was use to men knowing her to be a lawyer and therefore, knowing her to have money. Megumi couldn't remember a date where she hadn't paid.

"I'd be much obliged," he said, acting like he was going to make her, "but then I wouldn't bring ya t'a place like this. I'll cover this one, if that's all right with you."

Megumi smiled, taking his hand where he offered it to her to get out of the car. As they walked in she said:

"I'm surprised you don't have someone yet. You're nice, you know?"

Sanosuke looked away from her at that, and she wondered if maybe she had embarrassed him somehow. She leaned over to look at his face, and was surprised to see how it had fallen. She leaned back, stubbing her toe in the ground. "Is something the matter?"

They sat down at a booth, him across from her with an obvious look of anguish on his face. He swallowed it, glancing up to her and smiling. "Fine, jus' fine. I was jus' thinkin' 'bout how ya remind me of someone I once knew."

"Oh," she said, folding her hands over each other. She couldn't say much more.

* * *

The food was okay, the eatery was okay, but the conversation was both entertaining and alluring. Megumi hadn't been able to talk to a man so freely for the longest time. As they road back, she was looking at him, blushing to herself. Maybe it wasn't a date-date, but it wasn't just two friends having lunch either.

As they drove up Kenshin's street, they were appalled at someone trying to ram them off the thin road. Sanosuke's face cracked into concern, forcing Megumi to drop her anger. When she looked to the driveway of the Himura's, she found it empty. A figure dashed by them, catching their attention. Megumi could see that it was Kenshin by the red blob. She immediately got out of the car, following him down the street as best she could in her heels. Sanosuke wasn't far behind her, his feet pounding against he pavement.

They didn't have long to catch up, watching Kenshin fold to his knees, his hands bracing the ground. "Kaoru!" he yelled. Sanosuke knelt down next to his friend. Once the red head lifted his head up, his ashen face visible, Megumi exclaimed:

"Oh my God..."

* * *

A/n: Bum bum bum....till next time, KenSan out!


	6. The Art of Pretending

A/N: I know that last chap migh thave been a bit short...or maybe you just hated the cliffhanger, so I plan to continue onward.

**The Art of Pretending **

Kenshin hadn't meant anything by his words. He should have known though that words carried a hefty price. It was with words that you could shrink a person to nothing, or even make them something much more than they were. Whether or not it was your intention when you said what you did, it didn't matter. It was said, and couldn't be taken back. And there was no one to blame but yourself.

He was on his knees, his hand falling from his face, ashen white. He was aware of his moistened eyes, but was too indulged in the warm blood that oozed from the cut on his face instead. Megumi and Sanosuke leaned over him almost protectively. They asked him a million questions, but he didn't feel like answering. His voice was now hoarse, his hands skinned from where he brought them down to take the blunt end of his stumble. Kenshin kept staring out into the distance, as if by just staring he could take his words right from the air; as if he could make the car turn around.

"He's not in shock is he?" Megumi muttered to Sanosuke.

"Well acourse he's in shock," the man muttered back, slinging his arm over Kenshin's shoulders, his other arm clutching him from the front as he attempted to bring him to his feet. "C'mon man. Get up; don' sit here an..."but there was a pause in Sanosuke over all. It wasn't just a simple lapse in thought, rather, a lapse in everything. Like his soul had been taken from him for a time. His face also went white, sweat forming on his brow. He didn't let Kenshin go, he kept a firm grip, even getting the man to his feet. Still, he was lapsed; lost.

"Sano?" Megumi shook him. "Sano, what's wrong?"

For a few seconds Kenshin nearly forgot what had just happened. The absent look that crossed his friend's face; the blank look that was in his eyes was almost mirroring the red head's present experience.

"Sano?" Megumi nearly yelled.

The brown haired man was broken from his endless gaze. "Wha?" he asked, blinking a few times.

"Are you alright?" Megumi asked. Kenshin had eased himself out of Sanosuke's grip. His legs bowed inward, his hand gripping his friend's elbow. It was a strange event, in the least. While the red head stood bleeding, his violet eyes darkening somewhat, both Megumi and he were transfixed at Sanosuke, who's lapse from the real world seemed to have a supernatural feel to it.

"Fine. Jus' fine. We need t' get him to a doctor," Sanosuke said, grabbing onto his friend again.

"No, I don't need a doctor," he said, turning his attention back to the road. Being that it was a near desolate area, the empty road seemed to almost hiss as the warm winds blew across it. "I need to sit down."

Kenshin wasn't expecting to be picked up by his friend, but it happened, even if it was against his will. Sanosuke went inside and put Kenshin at the kitchen table. Now a little less shaken, Kenshin looked around the kitchen, taking in the damage that it held. Megumi's small gasp and Sanosuke's cold silence told him what they thought of the look.

"Nice decor huh?" he asked sarcastically. There were shards of glass littered about, papers strewn on the floor. Kenshin knew that the cut on his face was accidental; a stray shard had caused it. Kaoru had thrown the cup at him without intention of actually hitting him. He was already forgiving her for her irrational actions. Who could blame her? She was angry, so she was throwing things. Really, she didn't hit him, but the way it spliced off the fridge it struck him without her noticing since she was already marching out the door.

"She didn't take her things," he said calmly, leaning back in the chair. Megumi was at the sink wetting a rag. Sanosuke sat in a chair adjacent his friend, his hand on Kenshin's knee. "She didn't take her purse."

He knew he was trying to convince himself that she was going to come back. This wasn't an intentional reason for her to run away. She was just doing it out of frustration. But then, Kenshin considered that Kaoru never kept her money in her purse, but instead in a seperate wallet that she kept in the front pocket of her jeans.

Megumi pressed the rag to Kenshin's face, him flinching away. "It might keep bleeding," Megumi said, "it looks pretty deep. You're probably going to need stitches."

"No, I'm fine," he said, pressing his hand his cheek. "I'm just going to stay here."

"Listen, buddy, ya can't think straight," Sanosuke's voice seemed shrill to him. Maybe it was the down-home twang it had to it. "What with all this junk, yer not gonna be thinkin' right. Ya need t' see someone, get it fixed up, then ya can lump around the house. It ain't like ya can't take yer phone with ya," he said.

"We shouldn't go to the hospital," he reasoned. "It'll take hours in the ER. We should just go to the urgent care...it won't take as long," he said, standing up. Everything blurred for a moment. Kenshin back up into the chair, holding onto it tightly. "I didn't mean what I said," he blurted out suddenly. "I just said it. That's all. I thought being honest with each other was what we were suppose to do."

Sanosuke grabbed Kenshin, hoisted him to his feet and led him toward the car outside. He sat Kenshin down in the passenger side, motioning for Megumi to come and rid in the too. Kenshin sat in his friend's truck, staring up at the ceiling feeling dizzy. His hand was shaking, his eyes moist once again. Sanosuke scooted him into the center of the truck, Megumi sliding in the passenger side, pressing the wet cloth to Kenshin's face again, wiping up the blood as best she could before she put a few Band-Aids on it. It was going to bleed right through, but there needed to be something done to stifle the bleeding.

"Get going," Megumi said. Sanosuke didn't need to be told twice.

The trio sat in the waiting room for a while before Kenshin was called back. It left Megumi and Sanosuke sitting next to one another in an awkward silence. Megumi brought her head up to look at the people around her, their dullness overtaken only by the fact that there was something wrong with them. She couldn't help but laugh at a man who was holding out his thumb because he had a fishing hook stuck in it.

The waiting room was a palate of dull grays and eggshell whites with a few paintings to break up the monotony. Megumi became bored of looking at the walls and went over to a magazine rack, grabbing _Ladies' Home Journal_ that was at least three months old and sat back down in her seat, determined to deter her anxiety.

She'd hardly known Kenshin save for the times when Kaoru have spoke about him over the phone. From the way her step-sister spoke, Kenshin was a nice man from a well off family, though due to a "failure to communicate" as Kaoru had put it, Kenshin wasn't as well off as the rest of his family was. Somehow she found that hard to believe. Kenshin seemed humble enough to at least try and keep a steady relationship with his family, in the least. But then, she had only known him all of two days. There must have been a grudge or a fight, or maybe Kenshin was more spiteful than she thought.

"Hey, mind if I split for a few?" Sanosuke asked, tapping her on the shoulder. Megumi, entranced in ready through the magazine and lost in her own thoughts, didn't hear Sanosuke at first and he had to ask her again. "I'ma...not much into this antagonizin' waitin' thing." He left her in there, her lips curled somewhat. If they were friends, they were certainly strange.

Several hours later the three were at Kenshin's home once more, its rooms still empty of any occupants, the kitchen still messy and disturbed. Kenshin moved by it without consideration, lying in his bed, closing the door. Sanosuke was about to leave without saying anything to either Kenshin or Megumi. Megumi wouldn't have that.

"Sano," Megumi called out, following him out onto the porch. "Sano! Wait."

"What?"

His twangy country voice, usally soothing and somewhat rhytmic, at least to Megumi, had become harsh and cold, much like it did with earlier in the garage with Katsu.

"There's something wrong with you," she said, descending the stairs of the porch carefully. "Something just...plain wrong. Do you know something?" she asked, realizing that she had slipped into a tone that she used when she was cross-examining witnesses on the stand. It was a sweet, yet persuasive voice. Sanosuke obviously picked up on it. He turned away from her, pulling the car door open. "Sano, do you know something? If you feel like it's your fault..."

"It ain't," Sanosuke said. His voice lifted somewhat. "This shouldn' be gettin' all blown outta perportion like it is," he swung the car door like he couldn't decide if he wanted to leave or not. "Whatever he said t' her, he musta got his just punishment for it."

"But...you're his friend, how can you say that?" Megumi knew a bit of psychology when it came to dealing with people with deep pasts. In her job she constantly had to find a way to twist the truth out of somebody, whether it be asking the right questions, or saying it in a way that appealed to them. "You're throwing him under the bus."

"Look, I ain't in the middle of this melodrama okay? He _is_ my friend, but I'm not gonna get in the middlea his marital affairs."

"Isn't that what friends are for? Stepping in the middle of two people to show them the good points."

"Have you ever known a soul to actually win that fight?" he asked, slamming his car door shut. Megumi had caught his attention, but maybe not in the way she wanted. "Sure, I get in the middle there. I tell 'em all this stuff that make 'em out as saints, an' then what? They look at each other an' make up? Ev'rything gets good?"

Megumi knew for a fact that outside forces could fix something just as well as the inside forces could, but the conviction that Sanosuke spoke to her with made her feel like she was somehow wrong. "Look, ya got a good heart in all this, I won' deny ya that truth," he said. "But there are just some folks who...even if they're starcrossed or starstruck or whatever it is, they just can't make it. They can't find a way t' make themselves mesh. Or maybe...just maybe it ain't suppose to work out. Maybe they ain't what they think they are."

"You said yourself they're the best married couple you'd seen," Megumi said, recalling the earlier conversation.

"Well yeah, till ya see this. I don' think this is quite the "happy" marriage, do you?"

Megumi sighed and crossed her arms. "You're planning on losing a battle before you've even started to fight it," she said. Megumi was known for her fire and charisma, but with this man she was trying to appeal to sympathy, or even better, truth. "You don't know the outcome of this at all. You just think you do."

His brows knit downward, not angry, but somewhat distraught. He looked like a strange mix of a lost lamb and a hungry lion. "No, I don' think so. Yer the one that don' know. You should especially stay out of it. For your own good. There are forces at work there that you don' know about." He opened the truck door, revved up the engine and turned out of the driveway, Megumi left to herself and her wounded brother-in-law.

Back inside she paced the living room, something she did so badly it was like her vice, and she peered toward the bedroom where Kenshin lie, an occasional moaning floating out from under the door. She walked closer, convinced that something was following the moaning.

Like a young girl, she knelt down tot he crack under the door, peering in, her ear partially turned toward it so that she could hear and see. Kenshin padded around the room, sitting in front of the window cross legged, a hand on one of his knees. Megumi was thankful for the wide openings under the doors so that she could see this much.

There was mumbling coming from under the door, a few incoherent words that she tried her best to decipher. His voice picked up, allowing her to hear. "I just try and try...I can't help that you wan't them and you don't," he paused. That was when Megumi realized who he was talking to. "I love you Kaoru, I really do, but I can't keep fighting over something like this. You want to move, you want to have a baby, you want this, you want this...what am I suppose to do? We can only work so much to get where we want to go." Another pause. It was agonizing long, like waiting for the next episode of a television show. "I just want you to come home, really I do. I just...we just need to find something. I promise that we can work through this. Really, I promise."

Megumi pursed her lips and rose from the door. She couldn't listen to it anymore. She couldn't listen to him truthfully console her, knowing that she was pretending that she cared for what he said. Megumi had seen these kinds of things cycle. He would convince her to come back, she would, and then they would end up getting into a fight about the same thing because they both walked around with the problem unresolved.

The problem that they let sit though, was a problem that they would never face. They would pretend they both knew what the terms of it were, and they would tip toe around it like they could actually touch it, but in the end they could never really bring themselves to face what was their ultimate fault.

Why was it that couples pretending that if they ignored something that it would just go away? Megumi surely couldn't answer that, at least, not while she was single. When you were single it made so much sense, but when you were with somebody, the pretending and the lying and the tip-toeing seemed almost like they were written in a manual. Like that was how you were told you were suppose to do it.

She sat down at the kitchen table, her eyes on the door. Kaoru would probably be home soon.

* * *

A/N: Yeah...I realize I've been uber lazy with this story, but I really do intend to keep up with it. I'm gonna get off school soon, so I can work on it a little more.

Well, till next time, KenSan out!


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